Poland now 6th-largest EU economy, ahead of Switzerland and Belgium

Post by ImJamal » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 9:51 PM UTC

ManuelKiessling wrote: post #45

imdsm wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if your tradition is to have freedom. Then to be a conservative means to conserve freedom. Think about the UK & US. The conservatives don't want to change what it means to be American/British, but the far left want to change it all. They want to change: ownership, innovation, free market, property, freedom of speech/expression, freedom of thought/opinion, employment, government, you name it. Conservatives = resis…

But why the did Poland introduce a de-facto abortion ban in early 2021, with terminations only permitted in cases of rape, incest or if there is a threat to the mother's health or life? And abortions due to fetal abnormalities are no longer permitted in Poland. Isn’t that at odds with „conserve freedom“?

Post by toasty228 » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 10:02 PM UTC

barbacoa wrote: post #92

toasty228 wrote: post #81

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250sqm, 30cm thick brick for load bearing + perimeter walls, 30cm rockwool continuous external insulation, aluminium frame triple pane windows, glazured roof tiles, floor heating + wood stove backup, 15kwp solar panels installation, deep well backup, etc. Keep being smug, it just proves my point, Americans still think Arabs live in tents in the desert, Chinese live in the jungle and eastern European build houses out…

>250sqm, 30cm thick brick for load bearing + perimeter walls, 30cm rockwool continuous external insulation, aluminium frame triple pane windows, glazured roof tiles, floor heating + wood stove backup, 15kwp solar panels installation, deep well backup, etc. Even in Mississippi what you describe would not qualify as a "top of the line house". In fact that would be pretty average working class home. The kind of homes a…

Post by nradov » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 10:08 PM UTC

fridek wrote: post #80

wat10000 wrote: post #50

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Apparently HN commenters have difficulty with the concept of "metrics." What are the numbers? The US system sucks in a lot of ways, but it works OK for most Americans. If you're very poor, you'll have Medicaid and it'll cost you nothing. If you're an average middle class person, you'll have decent health insurance and your costs will be affordable. There's a slice of people in the middle who don't qualify for medicai…

The health care system is the most expensive in the world, while not producing the best life expectancy. It is in fact very much in line with Poland, except if you have $20k/yr in Poland for medical expenses you can expect concierge level treatment. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy-vs-health...

Post by WhrRTheBaboons » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 10:12 PM UTC

ajuc wrote: post #68

toasty228 wrote: post #37

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If you're in the bottom 70% of the working class anywhere in western Europe you'll live pretty much the same way: you will never be able to afford a new car, you'll never be able to retire early, you most likely will never own your own place. Nobody feels rich because the entire system is built by parasites exploiting the bottom 2/3rd. The only meaningful difference is how often and how far you can go in vacation and…

87% of Poles own a house in comparison to 67% in US.

Post by ttoinou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 10:22 PM UTC

aenis wrote: post #33

penchant wrote: post #10

I don't get the hype around nominal GDP at all – looks great, but tells you little to none about the actual living conditions. Living in Poland, I don't feel richer than an average Belgian person (and I've had contact with many of them across the years).

Polish living standard in major metro areas are significantly above Belgian standards. I lived in Poland and Belgium, among a few other places, and I'd choose Poland over Belgium for a number of reasons. Its a great country, good infra, excellent engineers, high education standards, you can talk to anyone in English, the government usually does work, and if you want an appointment with a specialist doctor, it takes a…